It was Saturday, the first day of April of the Year 1656. A crowd of believers, representing all states, fulfilled the cathedral of the presumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv. The Holy Mass was celebrated by papal nuncio Pietro Vidoni. At the main altar there was a image of Our woman of Grace, brought for this occasion from the Chapel of Domagalics.
The king himself attended Mass, Jan II Kazimierz Waza. After receiving Holy Communion, the monarch kneeled on the highest degree of the altar, before the painting itself, and made a solemn vow. The ruler promised to spread the honor and glory of Mary and her Son. Recognising the calamities of his homeland as God's punishment for his sins, he promised to deliver the people from unjust burdens and tribulations. He yet proclaimed parent of God as Patron and Queen of all his lands.
Flood
Less than a year earlier, in the summertime of 1655, to the Republic of Both Nations, weakened by the long-standing Cossack rebellion, the yearly Tatar attacks, and yet the war with the Moscow State fell the invasion of Swedes.
Well organized and commanded, the 30 - year - old aggressor army trained in the fire of war made an effective conquest. This was not only a time of defeat, but besides a time of shame. Polish magnates and nobles passed to the camp of winners. King Jan Kazimierz had to flee to Silesia. The Swedish troops, like the unstoppable waves of the flood, flooded the country.
The exile king didn't quit the fight. On November 18, 1655, he issued a universe calling on the nation to fight the invader. On the same day the Swedes began the siege of the monastery on Jasna Góra (see: Defense of Jasna Górahttp://www.pch24.pl/defence-clear-gory-,39490,i.html; Hellish kolubrins... http://www.pch24.pl/hell-colubrin-sub-jasnogorski-shank,39675,i.html). The heroic defence of the sanctuary against the Protestant invader lit the hearts of Polish Catholics and poured hope into them. Here and there sparks of opposition have now warmed with power, especially in the south of the country.
Under Jasna Góra, cannons inactive played erstwhile the king went back to his homeland. After a long, dangerous hike through the mountains, he arrived in Lviv on February 10. Always a faithful, unbreakable castle that had just won back the attacks of the Cossacks and Mosquicins, greeted him with enthusiasm. For a time, Lviv was to service as the actual capital of the country. This was where the monarch and the court resided, where abroad diplomats came. Finally, the decision to enter into a spiritual covenant between the state and the Polish people and the parent of God himself was made.
Inspirations
King John Casimir, a man of deep faith, did not gotta convince anyone to take vows.
The thought of an act of oath came from the primate of Poland Andrzej Leszczyński, faithful companion of the monarch in the Silesian exile. The initiative was surely besides supported by nuncio Pietro Vidoni and the spouse of the ruler Ms Louis Maria Gonzaga. However, the ground for the authoritative announcement of Mary Queen of Poland has been prepared for many years. In the 16th century the Renaissance poet Gregory of Sambora Praying to Queen of Poland and Poles. In the next century, the visions of the Italian Jesuit caused a large stir Julius Mancinelli. During the apparitions in Naples and Krakow (1608, 1610, 1617) he saw the parent of God and heard her words: "I am the Queen of Poland. I am the parent of this nation, which is very dear to me...”.
The very image of Our woman of Grace – the Beautiful Star of Lviv – before which he was to fall on his knees the vowing ruler, besides had a rich history. It was created in 1598, erstwhile the small 1 died Kasia Domagalicówina, beloved daughter of a respected lion juror. To soothe the pain of troubled parents, the grandpa of the deceased, Józef Szolc-Wolfovich He painted the image of Our woman with the Child, sitting on the throne floating among the clouds. At the ft of Mary there were 2 praying children.
The image was initially placed on the wall of the cathedral cemetery, close the resting place of the deceased Catherine, then a chapel was erected for him. In time, he began to be celebrated for his many miracles. For decades prior to the painting, they prayed to the townspeople, nobles, and peasants. Here in 1651 King Jan Kazimierz himself prayed, thanking him for his Berestek Victoria. Only then, he came here as a victorious chief, at the head of powerful troops. Now he was to humble himself before the Star of Lviv as ruler of the kingdom of ruins, standing above the edge of the abyss.
Your aid and mercy...
Gathered in the cathedral of Lviv, they listened to the words of their ruler:
“The large God of Man, Mother, the Blessed Virgin. I, John Kazimierz, for the mercy of your Son, the King of kings, and my Lord and your mercy, the king, at your most holy feet, having fallen upon you present as my Patron, and as the Queen of my kingdoms. As well as my Polish Kingdom, the Lithuanian, Russian, Prussian, Mazovian, Jewish, Inflantic, Smolenian, Black and the army of both nations and all my peoples your peculiar care and defense, I humbly call upon your aid and mercy in this disaster of the full and lamentable kingdom of my stand against the enemies of the Roman Church...”
When the king finished his vows, the Crown Chancellors appeared Andrzej Trzebicki, Bishop of Industry. He repeated the main thesis of the vows on behalf "The rulers, the dignitaries, and all the peoples of this kingdom." The faithful answered the mighty: "Amen".
The taker was the drama of the moment. Behold, the ruler of the defeated kingdom, the monarch-exile, betrayed and abandoned by many of his subjects, he again fought for his country and for his Church, oppressed by heretic invaders. In the face of the crushing military advantage of the enemy, he reached for the last reserve—the spiritual forces of the nation. The Swedish regiments before which all Europe trembled opposed the belief in the power of prayer.
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These were times erstwhile religion moved mountains and crushed hostile armies. The torch ignited by the defenders of Jasna Góra turned the Lviv vows into a real fire.
Just a week after the Marian Covenant, the regimentary Stefan Czarniecki He won a large triumph over the Swedes, crushing the Margrave corps of Frederick Badenski under Varka. The partisan conflict with the occupier was gaining strength, taking over the fresh parts of the country. The nation was rising from the fall.
Mr Solak
